Crossroads
by paris1601
Summary: AU: A version of how the guys met set in modern times. Cliché, I know. Rated for language and dark themes. If I have to up the rating, tell me so.


_A little something that came to mind one day I had to call in sick. Reviews and flames are both acceptable. Also, please tell me if you think I should continue this. Thank you very much._

_- paris _

_**Disclaimer**: Saiyuki is not mine. The story is fictional and all similarities to people and events in real life are coincidences._

**Crossroads**

_**Gonou**_

He stood at the edge of the busy intersection, green eyes gazing up to the heavens. He paid no heed to the raindrops pelting his skin and soaking him to the bone. There was a sad wanton smile drawn on his almost pretty face as he addressed the gods in a short prayer.

"If you have no more purpose for me in this life, let me die."

He had never seen himself as suicidal, but he was a person who could be described as someone who thought too much. He had, countless times before, always wondered how he would react if everything was taken away from him. He had always thought that he would cry endless tears. He had always imagined that he would feel immense pain and anger.

He never thought things would turn out this way.

He had been shocked when he found her—his fiancée's body unresponsive, not breathing, heart not beating. He had called the paramedics at once. He was not panicked. He knew she was gone. Drug overdose, they said. When they confirmed she was dead, the only thought that came to mind was how women often chose either poison or hanging as a method of suicide because it was cleaner and did not disfigure them. Then he felt numb. He had sobbed for a moment or two when one of the investigating officers let him read the suicide note she had written for him hidden in the pocket of the blouse she had been wearing. He was somewhat annoyed at how he was questioned about her death by police investigators who just wanted to be sure that there was no foul play involved.

But there was no real anger. He felt no real pain. He just felt an emptiness inside him, gnawing at him, growing as it fed on his soul. Emptiness and nothing more.

Even when he took matters into his own hands, the bloodlust he felt while doing his task was quick to drain from him leaving him, once again, empty.

He had no one to live for, his wife was dead. He had no life to look forward to, he was now a wanted man.

"Oi, having trouble crossing?"

He stopped talking to the gods he had come to doubt existed and turned to look at the speaker: a tall man with long red hair. He moved his line of sight to the middle of the street. He watched as the black tires of the passing vehicles ran over the thin carpet of water that covered the paved roads, making small splatters.

The redhead called out to him again. "Oi! You're soaked and you're getting me wet, too. Is something wrong?"

He did not look at the stranger with the long red hair. "No," he answered softly.

"If there's anything wrong, I work at the diner just down the street," the redhead went on.

He grinned at a secret joke that he shared with the gods.

Nothing's wrong, right?

He chuckled.

"You're crazy," the other man left him alone. He heard quick footsteps leading away from him. They paused. He felt a lingering gaze. Then more footsteps fading fast into the night.

Once again, he was alone.

He closed his eyes, a private smile on his face...

...And he stepped off the bank and into the sea of fast moving cars.

BEEEEP!

He ignored the sounds.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!"

He kept on walking, counting his steps, slow and deliberate.

"What the hell is your problem, asshole!"

He kept his eyes closed.

SCREECH!

He kept his smile. For the first time in weeks, he felt alive. A feeling he willingly gave his life for.

"You idiot!"

And then, he stopped. He knew he was somewhere in the middle of the intersection. He felt the cars zooming past him. He heard the warning sound of a truck driver honking his horn. He felt for his own suicide note tucked safely in his coat pocket. He turned and, even with his closed eyes, his vision was pierced by the glaring headlights.

Then nothing.

Once again, he felt nothing.

Once again, there was only emptiness. Was he dead? He imagined it would be more painful.

A young man, "Oi! Are you alright?"

He smelled cigarette smoke. Did the devil smoke?

He opened his eyes. He was still in the intersection. A bit closer to the opposite end of the road than he had thought he would be.

He had miscalculated again.

"If you're going to kill yourself, then don't get me or the stupid monkey involved," a gruff voice told him.

He faced the speaker and found amethyst eyes filled with anger that hid a growing concern. The violet-eyed man was a blonde truck driver, who had a newly lit cigarette hanging from his lips and was carrying an early warning device. He set the device a few yards in front of the truck. The truck had its hazard lights on.

The boy, obviously the peon, peered into his eyes. "Why were you doing that?"

"I made a deal with the gods," he replied.

The truck driver who was walking back from where he had placed the EWD snorted. "That's stupid."

An emotion entered the emptiness of the green-eyed man's soul. He was a bit confused.

BEEEEEEP!

"Oi, crazy man!"

He found the redhead dodging the oncoming cars, running to him. The white shirt of his waiter's uniform clung to his skin, made transparent by the rain.

The truck driver looked at him questioningly. "You know that guy?"

"Aa, kind of," he replied. "I think he works at the diner down the street."

"Diner?" the peon's eyes light up. "Sanzo! Let's go there! I'm hungry!"

The truck driver frowned. "Be quiet, you stupid monkey! This isn't the time to think about food!"

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" the redhead finally got there. His name tag read "Hi, my name is GOJYO."

The peon ran to the waiter. "Hey! You work at the diner, right? Do you have pancakes or waffles and cheeseburgers and..."

Gojyo picked up the peon by the back of the collar and looked at Sanzo. "Is this your pet, blondie?"

He watched them quietly. Another feeling crept up on him. He was feeling a bit amused. And he was somewhat relieved that he was still alive.

"I'm not an animal! I have a name! Goku! And it's not blondie, it's Sanzo!" the peon protested. "And Sanzo...I'm hungry."

"Che," Sanzo tried to light a new cigarette, but the rain, which was getting heavier, had soaked his cigarette. The truck driver cursed under his breath and then turned to the nameless stranger with the verdant eyes. "You hungry?"

But before he could answer, Gojyo already had an arm over his shoulder and was answering for him, "Of course he is! That's why we're all heading for the diner where it's warm, dry, and..." the redhead eyed the traffic that was slowly building up because of the bottleneck the truck made. "...safe."

"Wai!" Goku cheered. "So we're all going to eat, Sanzo?"

"Whatever."

And he found himself laughing, despite himself. The emptiness inside of him... It wasn't so empty anymore.

_**Sanzo**_

The blonde truck driver frowned and squinted at the windshield. If the rain got any stronger, visibility would be about nil. He set his wiper to its fastest setting and peered out into the road ahead again. Why were all the cars ahead swerving?

Drivers in this country are stupid idiots.

He glanced at his peon who was snoring rather loudly in his seat. A bump in the road caused him to hit his head on the window.

Peons in this country are also stupid idiots.

But he couldn't get mad. He was particularly fond of the dimwitted boy simply named Goku. That was probably why he took the boy in.

The driver whom Goku last worked for had beaten the boy for accidentally dropping a package, in Sanzo's opinion, should have been carried by a much bigger man. Sanzo had stopped the other driver by brandishing his revolver. Then, he figured he'd leave the two alone to sort it out.

But there was a look in Goku's golden eyes that made him keep an eye on the peon and his boss.

When he later learned that the beatings were a regular affair, he promptly went over and rid Goku of his abusive boss by using a few choice words, which included "never lay another finger", "castrate", and "your mother won't even recognize you".

"Sanzo?" Goku murmured groggily. "I'm hungry..."

"Idiot, is food the only thing in your mind?" Sanzo grunted.

Goku pouted. "I can't help it if I'm hungry!"

"Figures. An animal should only think of food."

There was a short silence. Sanzo wanted to bite his tongue off. Sometimes his words could be so cruel. He, however, found that a sharp tongue is sometimes all that you need to get out of some of the crap the harsh world loved to throw at you. Of course, he had his revolver. It came in handy since he was blessed with the stunning good looks of a _woman._ Contrary to popular belief, not all truckers were lascivious letches who would hit on anything that remotely resembled a skirt, but there were a good number of them to keep the tradition going.

But more often than not, cold words and wit can save the day.

However, the day didn't need to be saved by scathing retorts. He felt guilty, but he chose to ignore the feeling. Goku would forget in a day or two. All Sanzo had to do was to push the event as far back into his mind as possible.

"Oi, Goku, get me a cigarette," Sanzo told the young brunette.

Goku obeyed, but not without a protest, not for himself, but for Sanzo. "Ne, Sanzo, you really should stop smoking."

"Be quiet," Sanzo muttered as he accepted the lit cigarette that was being handed to him.

There was another silence and the guilt Sanzo felt for being mean to the boy distracted him for a moment. When he regained focus on his driving, Goku had already shouted a warning at him.

"Stop! Someone's on the road!"

What?

There really was a man on the road. He was just standing there waiting to get run over!

Sanzo floored the breaks and the truck squealed in protest as it was forced to a complete stop only inches away from its would be victim.

He immediately turned to his charge, silently checking for any injuries. The boy was focused on the brunette in the middle of the street so he didn't notice Sanzo assessing him. When the blonde driver was sure that his peon was fine, he jumped out of the truck. He searched his mind. He knew the man in the middle of the street looked familiar.

Oh yeah, Sanzo read about him in the papers. He was Cho Gonou, the man whose wife allegedly killed herself after being raped by a gang. The police, however, thought suicide was too convenient and decided to methodically ruin Gonou's life with investigations and media gossip. Then, the men who raped his wife end up dead and Gonou became a wanted man with nothing to look forward to other than a death sentence.

Sanzo snorted.

Murdering suicidal morons in this country are stupid idiots.

_**Gojyo**_

The smiling image of the green-eyed brunette was the first thing that popped into his mind when he first heard the protesting screams of wheels being redirected too quickly and horns being pounded for all they were worth.

Shit! He should have known something was wrong with the guy! No one in his right mind stands under the rain in the middle of the night by an intersection.

"Sal, I gotta go out for a sec," Gojyo hollered at the circus strong man that was their cashier. He ripped off the black apron that was the diner's sad attempt at class and dashed off into the rain.

He didn't even hear Sal's grunted, "Whatever."

He worked his long legs hard to carry him as fast as possible to where he had last seen the other man. He didn't know why he was so worried. He had no connections with this man. Then again, he had always been the one whose gaze lingered a little too long at a beggar on the sidewalk. He had always been the one who tossed a little more than he could actually afford into the Caritas cans and Santa Clause boxes. Even as a kid, he had always been the one to pick the playground outcasts for his teams just to make them feel like they belong.

Gojyo had never thought of himself as a compassionate man, he just preferred to feel sorry for other people and do something about their sad lives over contemplating his own sad existence as an outcast in his own home.

He cursed himself as he prayed to the gods that the man he had left standing in the rain was alright. He should have known what the brown-haired lunatic had been up to. He had seen all the signs once in his mistress of a mother only minutes before she had taken her own life. He recognized all the emotions he once had as his stepmother beat on him in rage whenever she could painted in that emerald gaze.

He was lucky he had his half-brother to save him back then when he was about to lose himself.

Maybe this guy wasn't as lucky...

"Please be alive, please be alive," Gojyo chanted over and over again as he rushed to the intersection.

When he got there, he saw cars avoiding a huge truck, which had stopped in the lane farthest from the ledge he was on. There was no police, which was good. There was a small group of men in front of the truck and relief washed over him when he saw a head of earthen hair.

Gojyo ran to them, dodging the cars and calling out to the brunette in the only name the redhead knew him, "Oi! Crazy man!"

When he got to where the small group consisting of the crazy man, a skinny blonde, and a...

Another brunette, a teenager, pounced on him the moment he arrived. The kid was spouting out something in an alien language which consisted mostly of names of food. He picked up the boy, which he decided resembled a monkey, by the nape of his sweater. Since he doubted that the older brunette had any company—else, why would he be so hell bent on killing himself?—he turned to the blonde. "Oi, blondie, is this your pet?"

"I'm not an animal! I have a name! Goku! And it's not blondie, it's Sanzo!" the monkey protested. "And Sanzo...I'm hungry."

"Che," the blonde tried to light a new cigarette, but the rain, which was getting heavier, had soaked his cigarette. He cursed under his breath and then turned to the crazy man with green eyes. "You hungry?"

Gojyo threw an arm over the crazy man's shoulder. He wasn't going to let the guy go this time unless he was absolutely sure that the somber brunette wouldn't kill himself. He answered for the other man, "Of course he is! That's why we're all heading for the diner where it's warm, dry, and..." then, he eyed the traffic that was slowly building up because of the bottleneck the truck made. He wouldn't be saving anyone if he was flattened in the middle of an intersection, now would he? "...safe."

"Wai!" the monkey cheered. "So we're all going to eat, Sanzo?"

"Whatever," came the frugal reply.

Well, the damn malnourished blonde prick needed to get some food into him. And maybe some milk. People who lack in calcium are said to be irritable and surly. Gojyo heard that somewhere.

"The diner's this way," Gojyo walked back to the place where he worked, leading the party of four. He made sure that crazy man was with them.

Had the situation been a tad bit different, i.e. the brunette hadn't tried to kill himself. He would have said the most clichéd thing he could think of, albeit jokingly. He grinned.

_This could be the start of a beautiful friendship._

_**Goku**_

The diner was nice and warm. The food was decent. It wasn't too nasty, but it wasn't exactly gourmet. To Goku, this was more than enough. He glanced over at his boss who was nursing a cup of coffee while reading that morning's paper, then at the guy Sanzo had nearly run over only minutes ago. The redheaded guy who had antennae coming out of his head had said something about punching out and left the table right after he had delivered their food.

He didn't realize that he had been staring at the brunette beside his boss.

"Is there something wrong?" curious green eyes matched the question spoken by their owner. His voice was nice. It wasn't gruff and angry-sounding like Sanzo's, it was mellow and soothing. Also, the eyes of this stranger were such a beautiful shade that it mesmerized him almost as much as the truck driver's purple ones. Goku guessed that this guy must have a nice smile, but the expression on his face remained dark despite his tone.

"What's your name?" the monkey asked.

A polite response from the other brunette. "Gonou."

He felt Sanzo peer at him from over the paper, most likely checking if he was behaving himself. No fan fell on his head, though, so he was probably still in the clear. "Why did you do that?"

Gonou did not look surprised, rather, his countenance darkened a little bit more.

"Why do you want to kill yourself?" Goku pressed on.

Twitch.

SMACK!

"Be quiet, you stupid monkey, don't meddle into other people's business!" the blonde somehow materialized a paper fan.

Gonou shook his head. "I might as well confess my sins. I will end up dead soon, by lethal injection or by some other means."

"What are you talking about?" the redhead returned to their table in his street clothes consisting of faded black jeans, which hugged his lanky frame perfectly, and a simple white shirt. The hair he had also tied back for work flowed freely over his shoulders. Goku noted that the red hair was longer than he had earlier imagined it to be. The hair was such a lovely shade, Goku wondered if it was hot like fire.

"Nobody's dying. I didn't feed you to let you get killed," the redhead continued.

"Cho Gonou is a man wanted for the murder of a gang," Sanzo filled the redhead in.

Both Goku and the redhead were surprised. The redhead, slightly so, while Goku was downright stunned.

"No shit," the long-haired man lifted a crimson eyebrow.

Sanzo set the newspaper on the table, making sure that the headline was visible. On the cover page was Cho Gonou, the man who almost became road kill, wanted for multiple murders.

Wide golden eyes stared in shock at Gonou. "What? There must have been a mistake!"

Gonou shook his head again, "I am a demon. I am a killer." He looked the redhead squarely in the eye, "Everything is written there in black and white, Gojyo. I'm sorry for causing you trouble, but you're trying to save a lost cause." He moved his gaze around the table, making sure that it was understood that his message was for everyone.

The green-eyed man began to stand up.

Goku wanted to stop him. He wanted to save Gonou.

Two cops, wanting to inquire about the large truck which was in the middle of the road, entered the diner. Violet eyes pinned Goku down into his seat, telling him not to do or say anything. Gonou should do what Gonou had to do. That was what Sanzo was telling Goku with those eyes.

In another time and place, Goku heard Sanzo's voice telling Gonou, "Kill Buddha as you meet him. Kill the Father as you meet him. Never be bound or captivated by anything or anyone. Live life the way you are."

Goku averted his eyes from Sanzo to have his gaze land on Gojyo. The redhead just stood there, staring resolutely at the cops. It was out of his hands.

Gonou walked over to where the two officers were. It was easy to see that the cops recognized the brunette with a solemn expression and one of them immediately radioed in for back up. Gonou raised his hands in surrender, and made no move to resist when he was roughly cuffed.

Goku noticed that Gojyo was shaking slightly, his teeth gritted and his eyes flashing.

"He made his decision," Sanzo reminded Gojyo and Goku.

Gojyo sighed, defeated.

Goku, on the other hand, was confused. Gonou didn't look evil, he just looked sad. And for a brief moment, the young boy wondered about the fairness of the situation.


End file.
